A piece of limestone from the Temple Bar area of Dublin is to be included in the construction of a £600,000 round tower at Messines Ridge, Flanders, to commemorate Irish people who fought and died in the first World War.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Joe Doyle, formally handed it over to Mr Paddy Harte, chairman of the Journey of Reconciliation Trust behind the Flanders project, at a ceremony in the Mansion House yesterday.
Mr Doyle said: "It is Dublin's symbolic contribution to a very worthwhile cause."
The construction of the tower is being supported in the North and the Republic. Funding is being provided by the Government, which has contributed £150,000, and the financial and commercial sectors.
Mr David Sayer, who has been seconded from the Northern Ireland Office as project director, told The Irish Times that about one-third of the tower had been built and it would be finished by November.
"We intend it to be 100 ft high in keeping with the traditional Irish tower. It is being clad in cut limestone from Mullingar and the first consignment will arrive on the site this week.
"Masons from the town will fly out on next Sunday and begin work next week," he added.
The Mullingar limestone has been taken from St Mary's Hospital, which dates back to the Famine. A portion of the hospital has been demolished by the Midland Health Board.
The first Victoria Cross awarded in the war was to Maurice Dease, from Levington, Mullingar, who was killed at Vimy in August 1914 and is buried in St Symphorien near Mons.
Mr Harte said the stone would not alone honour Irish people who had fought in the war but all Famine victims and their families.
Mr Sayer that about 12 people, Irish and Belgians, were involved in the construction of the tower, and they were assisted by youth groups from the North and the Republic.
